Two-color wave mixing upconversion in structured waveguides

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for generating controllable, narrow-band radiation at short wavelengths, driven by two colors injected into a structured waveguide. The use of multicolor excitation with the structured waveguide allows the use of very small guided beam diameters, without damaging the waveguide. Reduced guided wave mode area combined with low intensities required to drive wave-mixing frequency conversion allow the use of very compact, high average power, moderate peak intensity femtosecond fiber laser technology to drive useful conversion efficiency of laser light into the deep-UV and vacuum-UV at MHz repetition rates.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention[0001]The present invention relates to wave-mixing upconversion in waveguides. In particular, the present invention relates to the generation of controllable, narrowband radiation at short wavelengths by two-color wave-mixing upconversion in structured waveguides.Discussion of Related Art[0002]Scientific advances—in particular advances in nanotechnology-present expanding applications and opportunities for the use of coherent light at short wavelengths, extending from the ultraviolet into the x-ray region of the spectrum. A variety of applications make use of distinctive characteristics of candidate light sources:[0003]1. Imaging resolution is limited by wave diffraction effects. This is true for both conventional imaging systems as well as “super-resolution” imaging techniques. The use of short-wavelength light thus makes possible imaging at few-nanometer resolution. New techniques, broadly characterized as Coherent Diffractive Imagin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent text describes a new technology that allows for the generation of very short wavelengths of light using a more compact and efficient laser system. The technology uses two colors of light to drive a process that combines the two colors to create a new color in the form of UV light. This UV light can then be used in applications such as UV curing or UV printing. The use of a structured waveguide allows for the use of small beams of light which reduces the need for high-power lasers. The technology also includes a mechanism for maintaining the gas in the waveguide at a pressure gradient to improve efficiency. Overall, this technology allows for the generation of high-quality UV light in a more efficient and compact way.

Problems solved by technology

1. Imaging resolution is limited by wave diffraction effects. This is true for both conventional imaging systems as well as “super-resolution” imaging techniques. The use of short-wavelength light thus makes possible imaging at few-nanometer resolution. New techniques, broadly characterized as Coherent Diffractive Imaging (CDI) techniques, also make use of the coherence of illumination to enable nanoimaging.

2. Nonimaging techniques, broadly characterized as “scatterometry” are used extensively for detection of sub-wavelength size defects in semiconductor manufacture. However, the difficulty of detection of small defects scales correlates strongly with the ratio of defect size to illumination wavelength, motivating the use of short-wavelength illumination.

3. Short wavelength lasers are also used for precision machining. Industrial applications to-date have been limited to the use of (pulsed) ultraviolet lasers that can focus to high intensity and small spot size. However, deep-UV, VUV, and EUV laser sources also have potential for ultra-precise machining.

4. Other techniques make use of the ionizing nature of light in the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV), extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray regions of the spectrum for techniques of photoelectron and photoion spectroscopy, including for-example Angle Resolved Photoemission (ARPES) for characterization of the band structure of materials. Other techniques such as photovoltage spectroscopy, photoemissive probing of circuit voltage, and photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) can make use of both the short wavelength and the photoionizing nature of a coherent short-wavelength light source.

Other limitations originate from the optics used in these systems.

However, in the former case, the scheme was found to be unreliable because the required intensities for high-harmonic generation also made the structured waveguide susceptible to damage.

In the latter case, the broadband VUV light is less useful for many applications than is a narrowband emission as demonstrated here.

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